Texas Christian University offers military nurse program

November 29th, 2010

Individuals who want to pursue a nursing degree and assist the soldiers who fight for their country may be interested in becoming a military nurse.

Texas Christian University’s nursing program offers students the chance to train in the Reserve Officer’s Training Corps, the Star-Telegram reports. Following the completion of required coursework, graduates will have a job in the army.

In addition to the nursing training they will acquire, students will master skills such as land navigation, map reading and patrolling as they learn how to lead army units.

There are currently 3,300 active-duty military nurses working nationwide and overseas.

According to army officials, military nurses are typically stationed at U.S. and foreign hospitals where they treat service members, their spouses and children. They also treat men and women who have or are currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Captain Saundra Martinez, a brigade nurse counselor, says that the life of a military nurse is “frightening” and “scary," but “so rewarding” all at once. “You are working nonstop. But it doesn’t seem like it.”

Data collected in 2009 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics states that across all branches of the military, there were 72,097 individuals enlisted as healthcare workers.